Certainly, travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.
— Miriam Beard

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Monday, January 14, 2013

There's a World out there.

As an ambassador to the United States, one should know what is going on in the world.
While there are a multitude of stories on the news every day, there is one that has caught my attention.
Recently, Cuba made a new law. Travelers can now stay away for two years instead of 11 months and extend that time further; those who left illegally over eight years ago will no longer face difficulties to return.
The government, which once denounced those who left Cuba as "worms" and traitors, now talks of them simply as economic migrants.
The authorities are gambling that by making it easier to travel, more Cubans will work and study abroad then bring their money and expertise back to the island.
As Cuba starts seeing better days in it's future, for most people, going abroad will continue to only be a dream even with the new law in place.
Cuba is a developing country and where, here in America, we are paid minimum wage, Cubans are paid less than that. So even with the huge drop of price on passports in Cuba (went from $300 to $100), some people still cannot afford them.
Bittersweet if you ask me. In America we don't really think about developing countries as much as we should. Hopefully by sharing this story I can help bring attention to countries like Cuba.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-21008571